Benny's Path

Friday, September 24, 2010

They met Arthur at mobile adoption with his foster home, my volunteers. Both are on my board and longtime RR volunteers/fosters and members of RR online. Also, foster and volunteer for my friend, Pali's group, Rocket Dog Rescue in SF.

Spoke to foster at length on volunteer's cell phone how our system works and sent her the intro not once but three times..

Over the next three plus months I sent a weekly email..in all that time I received three total emails from the fosters, all sounding suspiciously re-worded ... didn't check her refs, but she claims to have known the three refs for over five years. She graduated from Harvard in 2007 which would mean the refs would all have had to attend the same school and all four people hire on with the VA..not plausible.

Volunteer and I both email and phone to try and set up the second home check..phone not working and no emails returned.

This is when I get scared.

Volunteers visit the home and find it dark and shutters drawn, no one at home.

Two more of my reps visit the house the next day accompanied by a VA Police ... all three chased off property by VA security who owns the home.

Foster woman emails me starting out with living on federal property, etc. Nothing about Arthur.

Rather than answer the letter, I ask my longtime attorney to call her. They speak for 45 minutes, my attorney in the capacity of mediator, not attorney. My attorney actually takes the side of of the foster and pleads their case. At this point I want the dog looked over, too many suspicious events.

Foster woman sends another email, cc'd to me and attorney, attacking my attorney on every level, personal and professional..she did some digging and hit below the belt. My attorney was pretty broken up. At this point, I tell my attorney to drop everything on my behalf out of concern for her wellbeing and protection of our longstanding friendship.

I then begin the long and painstaking jumping through the hoops of calling VA police, Peninsula Humane, the police, every entity between SF and Santa Cruz all of which just say hire a lawyer, can't even get a wellness check to make sure Arthur is alive and healthy.

I finally get that fuzzy picture of a dog no one can even make out. The foster woman lies to the police and to Peninsula Humane saying she never spoke with me, that my board member and volunteer, a very savvy financial analyst..just gave Arthur to them. My volunteer has written an account of what actually took place June 4 which will be used in court.

We cannot get help from the local animal control, from the police, from the media and the property where the couple lives is owned and patrolled by police department on the same payroll. All events surrounding Arthur's foster are rife with red flags. The fosters have lied on the application, to the police and to animal control. We are terrified for Arthur's wellbeing and need your help to raise the necessary funds to hire Bruce Wagman, an excellent attorney and animal rights activist.